


The Story of my Death

by JennaTheDreamer



Category: Original Work
Genre: Asexual Character, Gods, Nonbinary Character, Other, but now there isn't, it's about a revolution, there was a war
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2020-07-10 08:13:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19902583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JennaTheDreamer/pseuds/JennaTheDreamer
Summary: Ariana can pinpoint the moment in time from where on everything just started moving towards her death. This is the story how she died."There is a group of people", Lazarus says. "The begin of a revolution, maybe. We meet up every Saturday. You guys should come and join us", he suggests."How have I not known about this? We've lived here so much longer than you do.""The adults don't want us to know. So, what do you say?""Sure, I'm in", I agree.Misha nods as well, Zoé just crosses her arms and looks at Lazarus like she has just decided that he is not attractive any more.





	1. Prologue

My life started the same way it is going to end: With a bullet. 

  
It began with the bullet my mum caught for my dad. They didn't even know each other. It was during the war, when my parents fought alongside. My mum saw the bullet flying in my dads direction and caught it. When she recovered from her injury they started dating and here I am. 

  
My life is going to end with a bullet, too. I know it is.   
  
  
My mum was hit in the shoulder, and I know it's not going to be the shoulder this time. The shooter is good. The best. I thought of them as an ally. As my friend. 

  
I guess I was wrong. 

The people say you see your whole life when you die. Well, that is not exactly what happened. What I realized was from when on I had marked my fate. It was June eleventh, 2020. The day I met Lazarus White.

  
My name is Ariana Williams. And this is how I died. 


	2. Lazarus

"Do you see that guy over there?", Zoé asks in my direction. 

  
I lift my head. "Where?"

  
She points at one of the windows. There stands a guy about our age, seventeen, in a blue button up and black jeans. The last rays of sunshine reflect in his light blonde hair. 

  
I nod. "What about him?", I ask. 

  
"He's hot!", my sister replies, maybe a little too load. 

  
I roll my eyes. She's all about good looking boys. I don't get it but I still say "Sure." I really don't want to discuss this now. Me telling her I don't find that guy hot and she suspecting that then I might like girls and than me trying to explain to her that I don't find girls hot either. We've had this. 

  
Before she can say anything else I notice, "I've never seen him here before." 

  
Zoé narrows her eyes. "Yeah, me neither." 

  
"Maybe he's new here. We should go and say hi", I suggest. 

  
Zoé looks shocked. "What? No, we can't just..."

  
Without letting her finish I put down my glass and start walking towards him. 

  


"Hi", I say, pulling the word in the length and leaning against the wall. "My sister and I saw you standing there all on your own, so we thought we'd come over and give you some company." 

  
He looks from me to Zoé to me again. "Hello", he says. 

  
"Are you new here?"

  
He nods. "Yes. I just moved here a week ago."

  
He sounds English. "Where ya from?"

  
"London." 

  
"Oh, he's a city boy", I say to Zoé. She blushes and rolls her eyes.

  
"Well, I'm not from South Detroit, but still."

  
"Journey. I like it. I'm Ariana, by the way. That's my twin sister, obviously. Her name's Zoé."

  
He grins and it does kind of look cute. "I'm Lazarus. It's nice to meet you." He smiles at Zoé. "Hi", he says. 

  
"Hi", she repeats quietly. 

  
I clap my hands. "Let's go get some food, shall we? My aunt told me the little pizza pieces are amazing."

  


"So, Lazarus. You know Journey?", I ask. 

  
He takes a bite from his sandwich and shrugs. "Just a couple of songs. I listen to stuff like Green Day and Linkin Park."

  
I grin. That guy has good taste. 

  
"What are you into?", he asks Zoé. 

  
She looks surprised, but answers, "Avril Lavigne and Ed Sheeran. Heather Dale is good too."

  
"I like Panic! At The Disco and Fall Out Boy", I say. "Oh, and there are some German groups that are quiet good."

  
"Do you speak German?"

  
"Learning it at school. Our Grandma comes from there."

  
"I have a German friend", Lazarus says. "Back in London, I mean." 

  
"Ari had a musical phase", Zoé blurts out. 

  
"It was _not_ a phase", I insist. "I still like some of the songs."

  
My sister laughs silently. Normally she's not that shy, but she is around boys. 

  
"What musicals?"

  
"Dear Evan Hansen, Hamilton. That are the ones I still listen to."

  
"Oh, I know Hamilton!", Lazarus calls out. Then he leans over the table, closer to me. "Did you know Lin-Manuel Miranda was a Gifted One?"

  
My eyes go big. "What? Seriously? He's like us?" 

  
  
I probably should explain that. There are Ordinary people and there are Gifted ones. The Ordinaries don't know about our existence, but we have been around for a while. At some point, I think about four thousand years ago, the gods stared blessing children at their birth. That means they put them under their protection and gave them access to some of their powers. The gods started with promising families and since then it has to do with bloodlines. 

When I say gods I mean all of them. Literally, any god you can imagine. Every god has someone. Some have more under their wing, some less. 

Mostly, it works like that: When a child is born a god appears. I don't know how they decide who gets whom. Well, the god says "I will let this child share my power and abilities". Then they disappear and you will never see your god again. 

Zoé was blessed by Hestia. She is the Greek goddess of the family and the fireplace. It fits Zoé, if you abandon the fact that she is maybe not so much a virgin as Hestia is. Our little brother is blessed by Poseidon, the Greek ocean god. The Greek gods run in our family. Every one of my cousins is Greek, with exception of Bonnie, who is Roman, but that is because her mother is Roman too. 

You'll believe what a shock it was when I was blessed by an Egyptian god. Anubis, the god of the dead. And now you try to tell a child that all their powers are connected to death. When I was younger I always wanted another god, but now I'm fine with it. 

  
  
Lazarus nods at my question. 

  
"By who was he blessed?", I ask. 

  
He shrugs. "One of the Greek muses, I think."

  
"That's awesome", I say. "How do _you_ know that?"

  
"My mum told me. She met him at a meeting in London, a couple years back."

  
Suddenly I remember something I read on a blog a while ago. "Have you heard of that theory that Kurt Cobain, you know, that guy from Nirvana", he nods, "that he died in one of the fights before the war really began. I think he was standing against The System. He died and they needed an explanation for the society of Ordinaries, so they faked a suicide. Just that they were not that good at it."

  
"Well. at least they tried, ey?" 


	3. The System

"Did your parents fight in the war?", Zoé asks. 

  
Lazarus nods. "They did. They fought for The System."

  
"Our parents did too", Zoé says. "They met on the battlefield."

  
"You don't seem to thrilled about it", I notice. 

  
"'m not! It was good how it was. After the war it was fine, for a while at least. But now? We are totally cut of from the world. The adults are not allowed to have a normal job. We are not allowed to tell anyone about this. Do you know how hard it is to have an Ordinary friend?"

  
"I do, believe me", I say. I always wanted to have normal friends. Last year I was hanging out with a group of people I go to school with, but after a while I had to start lying about myself. Now I barely even talk to them anymore. I liked being with them, because they didn't now anything about this world I live in. It was nice to be with someone who doesn't know I share the power of a god of the dead. But still I wanted to tell them who I really am. It's complicated. 

  
"Our aunt is married to an Ordinary man", Zoé tells Lazarus. "He doesn't know his wife is gifted. He doesn't know his daughters are. That's cruel." 

  
Every time we visit our mum's sister we have a briefing in the car, before we go inside. Our parents tell us to don't pity them out loud (Zoé), not use our powers (Misha) and not talk about the other world or even just hint it (me). 

  
"Yeah, right?", Lazarus picks up his speech. "The only exception are our schools. We are allowed to go to normal schools. But The System is already working on schools for us. Just another couple years and they're ready. Boarding schools! Imagine!"

  
"Kids growing up far away from their parents", I say. No one deserves that.

  
"My big sister's wife is pregnant. Is their kid just gonna go to boarding school when it's six and then we'll just see it in the holidays? That'll break their hearts." 

  
He took a sip from his cup, when someone else joined us. Misha, Zoé and my fourteen year old brother, sat down next to Lazarus. 

  
"Hey, Zori", he greets us. When he was seven he combined our names so he didn't have to say them both when talking to us. He found it funny so it stayed. 

  
"Hello", Zoé says, not very excited. 

  
"Mickey just left, so you're stuck with me now."

  
"Mick was here?", I ask. "What about Bo? I didn't see her."

  
"'cause she wasn't here. Mick says she's sick or somethin'. Who's that?"

  
"Oh, right", I say. "Mish, that's Lazarus. He just moved here. Lazarus, that's our brother Misha." 

  
"Hey, man", Misha says. 

  
"What's up?", Lazarus says. 

  
"He's from London", I add. 

  
"Ooh, English boy", Misha grins, winking at Zoé. 

  
She blushes (Again, really, what's her deal?) and mutters, "Shut up."

  
"You two seem very similar to me", the older boy says, pointing at Misha and me. 

  
"Yeah, man. Where d'you think I learned it?", he asks. 

  
He shrugs. 

  
"And yet for some reason I'm not as weird as they are...", Zoé says. 

  
"You, my dear sister, are the oldest one. The responsible one", I reply. 

  
"Babysitter is sometimes really more like it, _my dear sister_ ", she mocks me. 

  
I don't like it when she calls me sister. I don't like it when anyone refers to me as a girl, because then it feels like they are reducing me to just that. Not that I have a problem with being a girl, I just don't like being called one. 

  
"Not true!", Misha argues. 

  
"Did you know you are even more annoying when you are together?"

  
My brother and I look at each other. "Yes, we know", he says. 

  
Lazarus looks from one Williams-Sibling to the next, seeming slightly confused. 

  
Misha smirks at him and claps his hands. "So. What were you guys talking about before I interrupted you so elegantly?"

  
"The System", I answer. 

  
"Oh boy, okay. Mum and dad fought for The System during the war. Mum got shot, met dad, 22 years later, here we are. Three wonderful, partly good looking Williams siblings, powered by water, family and death. Yup. What do you think about The System?"

  
Lazarus says, "Like I already told your sisters", I notice Misha narrowing his eyes on that, "it's absolute bullshit." 

  
"They are forbidding us so much. Like having actual friends", I point out. 

  
"You do have friends", Zoé argues. 

  
"Yeah? Who?"

  
"Well, me, Misha, Bonnie-"

  
"You are family, Zoé. I don't have any friends and you don't either."

  
"Tammy." 

  
"No", I state. "She's a bitch." 

  
Zoé looks away from me and out the window, even though there is nothing to see anymore, because the sky has gone black. Just a few stars sparkle lonely in the dark. 

  
"Really, we are growing up in a world shaped by war", Lazarus says. "It changed everything. It was good, at first. We were save."

  
"But now we are too save", I add. 

  
"We can't be too save", Zoé claims. 

  
" _We are._ " 

  
"There is a group of people", Lazarus mentions. "The begin of a revolution, maybe. We meet up every Saturday, more often in the holidays. You should come and joins us", he suggests. 

  
Zoé crosses her arms. 

  
"That sounds good", I say, "but how come I haven't heard of that already? I've lived here my entire life!"

  
"The adults don't want this to happen. So, what do you say?"

  
"I'm in", I say. 

  
"Yeah, man", Misha agrees. 

  
My twin just looks at Lazarus like she has decided that he is not attractive any more. 

  
"Brilliant. There is a house a couple kilometers in direction of Duckpond."

  
I frown. "Duckpond, wha- Swansea, do you mean Swansea?"

  
"That's what I said. Give me your phone number and I'll text you the address."

  
I look at Zoé, but she doesn't make a move to get her phone out and get that hot guys number. She probably seriously doesn't like him any more, so I take out my phone and give it to Lazarus, so he can save his number. 


	4. The Dark is poetic

I sit cross-legged on the brick wall that separates our garden from the street. It's a bit higher than my hip, but when I was little the top seemed unreachable. I thought I'd never get tall enough to sit on it without help. 

  
Across the street, behind the trees and over the sand dunes is the sea. The wonderful, beautiful ocean. I breath the salty air deep in. 

  
Zoé most certainly never liked the sea as much as I did and definitely not as much as Misha.

  
My twin and I never had the same interests. Not often we agree. We used to fight a lot, but when we got older we learned to get along. 

  
She really is the responsible one. Still, Zoé'd rather live in a world of rules and strictness than to fight for her freedom. 

  
Maybe she's right. In most cases she is, so why not now? It's not that bad, is it? 

  
I look up at the stars. The sky is clear with exception of a couple of clouds. The moon is still hidden behind the roofs of the village. 

  
The nights are dark, here in Port Eynon, the place in Wales where I live. I like the dark. It protects me. To me it has something calming, that the others find scary. It's quiet and lonely and dangerous and I'm being poetic.

  
The night is the perfect time for poetry. Too bad I'm not good at it. I'm just having poetic thoughts, sometimes. Although I was never able to rhyme, I do have a sense for words and writing and telling stories. Writing is, just like the dark, a part of me. I write short stories that I then read to my eight year old cousin Teddy. He's the one who enjoys them the most. Always since I could remember I had been reading my work to him. He was my first audience. I will probably still be reading them at his wedding. 

  
Or at least, I thought so. I would have loved to do that. It makes me sad to realize it will now never come to that. 

  
Writing is a good ability for a revolution, isn't it? I could write speeches. Yeah. The revolution is the right place for me, no matter what Zoé thinks. And if it means not agreeing with her, then so be it. We're different people. She will understand, eventually. 

  
Maybe I was meant to meet Lazarus. Maybe this is my fate, maybe it is just coincidence. Whatever it is, Misha and I are finally going to meet some people our age. We could make friends. It is the right ting to do, even though I don't believe our parents would be fine with it. But we are teenagers, right? We are supposed to do what our folks don't want us to. 

Something warm and soft bumps into my knee. In the dark I can make out the small shape and the grey striped fur. It is my cat, Findus. Even though I've had him since I was ten he is named after the cat in my favorite children book: Pettson and Findus. It's a kind of comic book about an old Swedish man and his talking cat. 

  
"Hey", I whisper to Findus and pet his ears. He jumps on my lap. "Where have you been all day?"

  
He doesn't answer me, but I am convinced that he can understand me.

  
"I met this guy, today. We get along really well, I think. His name is Lazarus. I'm gonna text him tomorrow." Findus looks at me. "We have the same opinion, you know. I think Misha likes him too. We will see what comes of it, right?" 

  
He purrs softly and pushes his head against my leg. I smile at him. He really is the cutest cat. 

  
I can see his eyes follow something. At first I think it is an insect that bothers him, but then I realize: It's a spirit.

  
Yes, my cat can see ghosts. That's why we fit toghether so perfectly. Findus was, how I think, I gift from Anubis, the god that blessed me. 

  
He notices the spirits first and warns me, so I don't get scared. The spirits always find me. Most of them and confused and lost and even more scared than I am.   
No one can see them, they don't have a solid body and they often don't remember dying. That would freak you out too, right? 

  
At first I see only the outlines of a pretty small body glowing in the dark. As they come closer the shape gets clearer. It's a child. A little girl whose clothes don't seem to fit in this time. That is not uncommon. Sometimes it's just too many souls for the reapers to collect, or the spirits simply hide, because they're not ready to go. 

  
"Hello", I say quietly. 

  
The girl looks at me with terror in her eyes. "Are you talking to me?", she asks. 

  
I nod. "Yes. I am. You can come closer. I'm not going to harm you."

  
Slowly, carefully, she steps closer to me. 

  
"My name is Ari, this is my cat, Findus", I introduce us. "What's your name?" 

  
"Isla." 

  
"Hello, Isla. Would you like to sit with me?" I pat on a spot on the wall to my right. 

  
She nods and walks toward it. Right before the wall she steps on an invisible stair and sits down next to me.   
"Why do you see me?", Isla asks, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. "Nobody else can."

She sounds Scottish. 

"Because I have a special gift. Isla, tell me, how long have you been like this?"   
  


She shrugs. "I don't know. A few weeks maybe. What happened to me?"

"You died."  
I learned that it doesn't help to lie to them first. The truth is always hard.   
  


Shining tears start to fill her eyes. "But... I can't... What about my mum? I can't leave her. Where is she?"   
  


"Where are you from?", I question.  
  


"Edinburgh. Where am I now?"

She must have been wandering around for a while if she got so far. "In Wales."

"I need to get back to my mum. She just got a baby." She starts to cry. I take her into my arms.

"It's alright", I whisper to her. "Your Mum is going to be alright.

"How you you know that?"

"She told me. She is okay. She said she loves you and she wants you to rest now."

Isla nods. "I love her too. Can you tell her that?"

"I will when I see her." I wipe her tears away. "Come. I will take you to a save place where you can stay."

I push Findus off my lap and stand up. I start walking towards the ocean, my cat following me. Isla jumps down her invisible stairs and takes my hand.

We reach the beach and I point at the stars. "That is where souls go", I explain.

I made this fairytale up myself. I like to believe that the ones I've lost are with the stars and shining their remaining light down to me every night.

I don't know what actually happens to us after we die. Maybe it depends on what we believed in.

I take a deep breath and reach into the power line Anubis leaves open for me to use it every time I require it. I take the force to open a gateway.

It starts out as a small shimmer that quickly evolves into a 2.5 meter high door. It is an unmarked door in a beautifully decorated frame. All of it glows in a spooky turquoise.

"That's your portal", I say to the girl.

She looks at me, then at the door, and squeezes my hand. "Thank you, Ari."

"You are very welcome, dear."

Isla lets go of me, walks to the door and opens it. Behind it is only a shine of light, not blinding but still bright. She looks back and gives me a little smile.

She steps into the portal and disappears with it, only leaving a screen of fog behind.


End file.
